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Key local figure

John Berry

John Berry (1798–1870), born near Hillsborough, was a self-taught builder-architect whose Orange County work includes the Masonic Hall, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and the 1844-45 courthouse, and he served several terms in the state Senate. His will left at least 1,238 acres and 42 enslaved people to his widow and children.

Source: NCpedia: Berry, John

1798–1870 · Dates from the Library of Congress · Library of Congress authority record ↗

10 works about John Berry are indexed here, as are 2 works by Berry.

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Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineEagle Lodge and the Hillsborough Masonic Hall, 1788–18231788–1823 · 10 events · Eagle Lodge, silent since 1799, was revived at Hillsborough in 1819 and paid for its Masonic Hall with a lottery. Under a new number, 71, the lodge voted money toward a male academy in 1820, and from 1821 it ran a lottery, held over eleven years, to pay for a hall. In July 1823 commissioners advertised for proposals to build a brick hall, and the cornerstone was laid on November 23, 1823 at what is now 142 West King Street. The Greek Revival hall was designed by the state architect William Nichols and is believed built by John Berry and Samuel Hancock. The Grand Lodge restored the lodge's original number, 19, in 1932. StorylineHillsborough Presbyterian Church, 1815–18371815–1837 · 12 events · The first pastor of Hillsborough's Presbyterian church strained relations with his congregation by advocating religious education, Sunday schools and preaching for enslaved people. The brick church on West Tryon Street was built with money from a lottery the state authorized, and in September 1816 Mary W. Burke, eight others and the Rev. John Knox Witherspoon organized the church. In 1823 the session admonished two members for trading in enslaved people without punishing them. Witherspoon ended seventeen years as pastor in 1833. In 1834 six enslaved women were baptized, and in 1835 Robert Burwell began a thirteen-year pastorate; the church bought a manse, and a Sessions House was built for the Sunday school. StorylineSt. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Hillsborough, 1823–18541823–1854 · 25 events · Hillsborough's Episcopalians built St. Matthew's on Thomas Ruffin's land after he argued against claiming the colonial parish's old church lot, then used by the Presbyterians. Organized on August 23, 1824 with William Mercer Green as first rector, the parish had John Berry and Samuel Hancock build its brick Gothic Revival church in 1825 and 1826 to William Nichols's design, and Bishop Ravenscroft consecrated it in 1826. Green married the parish register's first couple of color in 1831 and in 1833 baptized Job, enslaved by George W. B. Burgwyn, who as Job Berry later led Hillsborough's first Black congregation. A gallery for Black worshippers followed in 1835. Ruffin's deed formally conveyed the land in 1854. StorylineWhigs, Democrats and Know Nothings in Orange County, 1841–18591841–1859 · 16 events · Orange County's elections from 1841 to 1859 were often close, as Whigs, Democrats and for a time the Know Nothings contested the county. In 1841 Orange narrowly backed the Whig James S. Smith for Congress, though the Democrat Romulus M. Saunders won the district. In 1844 the county elected its whole Whig ticket and gave its own William A. Graham a majority for governor. A tied 1848 state Senate race, broken by the sheriff's casting vote, ended in a new election. Orange backed Graham's 1852 run for vice president, voted for the Know Nothing, or American, candidate for Congress in 1855 and went Democratic in 1856. In December 1859 a Whig and Opposition meeting denounced John Brown's raid. StorylineBuilding the Orange County courthouse, 1842–18461842–1846 · 7 events · Orange County's new courthouse at Hillsborough was disputed from the start, because western voters saw it as a move to fix the county seat and block a division of Orange. In February 1844 the county court voted to build instead of repairing the old courthouse and laid a tax of $8,000. The building commissioners let the contract privately to John Berry of Hillsborough without public notice, and western critics attacked the bargain. Masons laid the cornerstone that September, and Berry's Greek Revival temple-form building was standing by May 1845. The old wooden courthouse became a church, and by mid-July 1846 the repaired town clock was striking the hours from the new cupola. StorylineThe Hillsborough Military Academy, 1858–18611858–1861 · 11 events · In 1858 Charles C. Tew, superintendent of the state military academy at Columbia, South Carolina, announced that he would open a military academy at Hillsborough, and in December he bought a tract on what is now the west end of town. The academy opened in January 1859 in the old Hillsborough Academy buildings, and that August Masons, the Orange Guards and the cadets laid the cornerstone of the barracks. In June 1860 the cadets moved into the barracks, built, the Recorder reported, for 125 cadets at a cost of $30,000. The register counted 107 cadets from eight states by September 1860 and 131 by April 1861. On April 18, 1861 Tew left Hillsborough to command Fort Macon.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 60 dated events in the chronology →

During their lifetime

  1. A brick house is built on West Queen Street for Rhody Berry, mother of builder John Berry The one-and-a-half-story Federal house, the oldest surviving brick dwelling in the original town, was built about 1805 for Mrs. Rhody Berry. Tradition credits her son John Berry, but he was seven that year, and the 2014 nomination suggests neighbor Samuel Hancock, the brickmason who later became his partner. People: Samuel Hancock Place: Berry Brick House, 208 West Queen Street, Hillsborough · Also named: Rhody BerrySearch the index · National Register: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation (2014), pdf p. 151
  2. The Hillsborough Presbyterian Church is built on the old St. Matthew's church lot with lottery money The brick church on West Tryon Street was built in 1815 and 1816 near the site of the colonial St. Matthew's church, lost in the 1790s, with money raised by a lottery the state authorized. The brickmasons John Berry and Samuel Hancock are credited with the work. People: John Berry, Samuel Hancock Place: Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, 102 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: St. Matthew's, West Tryon StreetSearch the index · Hillsborough Historic District National Register Additional Documentation (2014), pdf p. 174
  3. James S. Smith's building commission starts Hillsborough's brick Masonic Hall In July 1823 commissioners James S. Smith, Thomas Clancy and J. P. Sneed advertised in the Hillsborough Recorder for proposals to build a brick Masonic Hall in the town. The cornerstone was laid on November 23, 1823, for the Greek Revival hall designed by William Nichols and built by local brickmasons John Berry and Samuel Hancock. People: James Strudwick Smith, John Berry, William Nichols, Samuel Hancock Place: Hillsborough, Masonic Hall (Eagle Lodge) · Also named: Thomas Clancy, J. P. SneedSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, July 23, 1823, p. 3 (To Bricklayers and Carpenters)
  4. The cornerstone of Eagle Lodge's Masonic hall is laid on West King Street The cornerstone of the brick Masonic hall at 142 West King Street, designed by state architect William Nichols and believed built by brickmasons John Berry and Samuel Hancock, was laid on November 23, 1823. The lot was deeded to the lodge in 1824 after the building went up. People: John Berry, William Nichols, Samuel Hancock Place: Eagle Lodge, 142 West King Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: West King StreetSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 142 W. King Street (Eagle Lodge No. 19 A.F. and A.M.)
  5. John Berry and Samuel Hancock build St. Matthew's Episcopal Church to William Nichols's design St. Matthew's, an early Gothic Revival church of Flemish-bond brick, was built in 1825-1826 by the local masons John Berry and Samuel Hancock to a design by William Nichols, who set its size at 35 by 45 feet. It replaced an earlier church at Churton and West Tryon streets that had burned in 1793. People: William Nichols, Samuel Hancock Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 210 St. Mary's Road, HillsboroughSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 210 St. Mary's Road, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
  6. St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough is consecrated under its first rector, William Mercer Green William Mercer Green became first rector of the reorganized St. Matthew's parish in 1825, the year work began on its brick church; state architect William Nichols and brickmaker John Berry were among the builders. Bishop John Stark Ravenscroft consecrated the church on May 21, 1826, during the diocesan convention it hosted. People: William Mercer Green, John Berry, John Stark Ravenscroft, William Nichols Place: Hillsborough, St. Matthew's Episcopal ChurchSearch the index · St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough: From the Abundance of God's Grace: A Brief History of St. Matthew's Parish, 1752-2017
  7. Paul C. Cameron builds Burnside on the foundation of Thomas Ruffin's old house Paul Cameron built the town house he named Burnside on South Cameron Street, on the stone foundation of his father-in-law Thomas Ruffin's earlier house. Enslaved workers from Cameron's Fairntosh plantation built it under his master carpenter Jack, and John Berry laid the brick. People: Paul C. Cameron, John Berry, Thomas Ruffin Place: Burnside, 201 South Cameron Street, Hillsborough · Also named: Paul Cameron, JackSearch the index · Hillsborough Historic District National Register Additional Documentation (2014), pdf p. 24 · Also: NCpedia, Berry, John
  8. John Berry completes a stone jail at Hillsborough Building commissioners named in 1836 planned a two-story prison forty-five by twenty-four feet at a cost of no more than $4,000, and Berry won the contract. Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 23
  9. Job is sold with 25 other enslaved people to Hillsborough merchant Stephen Moore To pay a debt to the Bank of Cape Fear for land bought in Tennessee, Francis Nash Waddell sold Job, later Rev. Job Berry, and 25 other enslaved people to the Hillsborough merchant Stephen Moore. Job probably kept painting for builder John Berry, his wages going to Moore. People: Job Berry, John Berry Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Francis Nash Waddell, Stephen MooreSearch the index · News of Orange County: Rev. Job Berry's legacy rooted in faith, marriage, education (Betty Eidenier, March 25, 2022)
  10. John Berry adds a rear ell to Peter Brown Ruffin's house on West King Street Builder John Berry added at least one two-story rear ell, with a Federal-style stair typical of his work, to the 1820s house that Peter Brown Ruffin owned in the 1840s. The house's first owner is unknown. Place: Peter Brown Ruffin House (Ruffin-Snipes House), 320 West King Street, Hillsborough · Also named: Peter Brown RuffinSearch the index · Hillsborough Historic District National Register Additional Documentation (2014), pdf p. 93
  11. Hugh Waddell buys Job at auction as Stephen Moore's business fails As the merchant Stephen Moore's business failed, Job was sold to the highest bidder and bought for $800 by the Hillsborough attorney Hugh Waddell, who made him his personal servant at Twin Chimneys on West King Street. When Waddell was away at court, Job was hired out, painting for John Berry, and his wages went to the Waddells. People: Job Berry, Hugh Waddell, John Berry Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Stephen Moore · Also mentions: Twin Chimneys, West King StreetSearch the index · News of Orange County: Rev. Job Berry's legacy rooted in faith, marriage, education (Betty Eidenier, March 25, 2022)
  12. Hillsborough's town commissioners engage J. Odend'hal to teach the town's English academy Hillsborough's board of commissioners, which owned the town's English Male Academy and had advertised for a teacher at the start of January, engaged J. Odend'hal, a teacher of eleven years' experience, and put the school under the board's superintendence to open on February 1, 1841. People: Edmund Strudwick, Lemuel Lynch, Stephen Moore, William H. Brown, James M. Palmer, John Berry Place: English Male Academy, Hillsborough · Also named: J. Odend'halHillsborough Recorder, January 28, 1841, p. 3
Show all 54 dated events
  1. Hillsborough re-elects Stephen Moore magistrate of police and returns its town commissioners In the annual town election, Hillsborough voters re-elected Stephen Moore as magistrate of police and returned the town commissioners for the coming year, among them John Berry, Edmund Strudwick, Lemuel Lynch, William H. Brown and James M. Palmer. People: Stephen Moore, John Berry, Edmund Strudwick, Lemuel Lynch, William H. Brown, James M. Palmer Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 11, 1841, p. 3
  2. Orange grand jury drafts a constitution for a county agricultural society A meeting called for Thursday, March 11, 1841, to form a farmers' society did not take place because of bad weather and court business, so the grand jury of Orange Superior Court took up the plan and unanimously recommended a constitution for an Agricultural Society of Orange County, with a board of thirty managers and a yearly exhibition of livestock, implements and home manufactures with premiums, and asked the county's farmers to meet and adopt it. People: John Berry Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, March 18, 1841, p. 3
  3. Hillsborough elects Thomas Clancy magistrate of police and chooses its town commissioners Hillsborough's annual town election made postmaster Thomas Clancy magistrate of police for the coming year and chose seven commissioners, among them William H. Brown, Lemuel Lynch, John Berry, John Jones, Pride Jones and James Mebane. People: William H. Brown, Lemuel Lynch, John Berry, Pride Jones Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Thomas Clancy, John Jones, James MebaneSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 10, 1842, p. 3
  4. Dabney Cosby takes the masonry subcontract for the lengthening of Old East and Old West Chapel Hill contractors Isaac J. Collier and Kendall B. Waitt subcontracted the masonry of the university additions to Cosby, who put enslaved workmen including the brothers Osborne and Albert on the job. Cosby and the architect Alexander Jackson Davis quarrelled over the drawings, and president David L. Swain asked the Hillsborough builder John Berry to look at the brickwork, which Berry reported was defective. People: Dabney Cosby, John Berry, David L. Swain, Alexander Jackson Davis, Isaac J. Collier, Kendall B. Waitt Place: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Also named: Albert, OsborneIn the index: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · North Carolina Architects and Builders, NC State University Libraries: Cosby, Dabney (1779-1862)
  5. John Berry builds the Orange County Courthouse County magistrates ordered a new Hillsborough courthouse in early 1844 and set aside $6,000, and its cornerstone was set to be laid with Masonic ceremonies on September 7, 1844. John Berry designed and built the Greek Revival temple-form building, which was standing by May 1845; the town clock went into its cupola in July 1846. Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Hillsborough courthouseSearch the index · NC State University Libraries, North Carolina Architects and Builders: Berry, John (1798-1870)
  6. Courthouse commissioners let the contract to John Berry The commissioners named by the county court to build the new courthouse, James S. Smith, Cadwallader Jones sen., Osmond F. Long, John U. Kirkland, Harrison Parker, William Murray, Edwin M. Holt and Michael W. Holt, let the contract privately to John Berry of Hillsborough without public notice. Western critics attacked the bargain in the paper through the spring. People: James Strudwick Smith, Cadwallader Jones, John U. Kirkland, Harrison Parker Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Osmond F. Long, William Murray, Edwin M. Holt, Michael W. HoltSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, May 30, 1844, p. 3
  7. Builder John Berry enlarges a St. Mary's Road farmhouse into Sunny Side, his country home John Berry, the Hillsborough brickmason and builder, enlarged and remodeled an older farmhouse on St. Mary's Road as a home for himself and named it Sunny Side. He kept his library there and lived there until his death in 1870. Place: Sunny Side, St. Mary's Road (100 Baldwin Road), near Hillsborough · Also mentions: St. Mary's RoadSearch the index · NCpedia: Berry, John (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography)
  8. Robert Burwell buys the house and has John Berry enlarge it Burwell resigned his pulpit and bought the two lots from the church for $800 and back pay. The builder John Berry added a central hall and two rooms and turned the house to face Churton Street. A deed of trust of July 16, 1850 shows Burwell still owing Berry $2,500 and the church trustees $800, secured on the lots and on enslaved members of the household. People: Robert Armistead Burwell, John Berry Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Churton StreetElizabeth Keckly Center at the Burwell School: virtual exhibit timeline · Also: Burwell School Historic Site Task Force report
  9. Sheriff's casting vote sends Hugh Waddell to the state Senate When the official count in Orange's state Senate race left Whig Hugh Waddell and Democrat John Berry tied, the sheriff cast the deciding vote for Waddell; within days Berry's friends charged that the return from John R. Holt's precinct had credited Waddell with five votes too many. People: Hugh Waddell, John Berry Place: Orange County · Also named: John R. HoltSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, August 9, 1848, p. 3
  10. Hugh Waddell resigns his disputed Senate seat and asks for a new election Unable to settle whether the Holt's precinct return had wrongly given him five votes, Hugh Waddell sent the governor his resignation of the Senate seat that the sheriff's casting vote had given him and offered himself again to the freeholders; the governor ordered a new election for November 7. People: Hugh Waddell, John Berry Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 27, 1848, p. 3
  11. Hugh Waddell contests John Berry's election to the state Senate After the November 7 special election, in which returns from Faucett's precinct were made under an inspector's protest and the sheriff declared Democrat John Berry elected, Hugh Waddell petitioned the state Senate to unseat Berry, claiming a majority of the legal votes; in early December the Senate debated how evidence would be taken in Orange. People: Hugh Waddell, John Berry Place: Orange County; state Senate, RaleighSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, December 6, 1848, p. 3
  12. Builder John Berry holds 44 enslaved people, most working in his building trade By 1850 the Hillsborough brick mason and builder John Berry held 44 enslaved people, most of them working with him in masonry and construction. Some, including his head carpenter Joseph Nichols, stayed with him after emancipation, and much of the carpentry in Berry's buildings after 1840 was likely Nichols's. People: John Berry Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Joseph NicholsNC State Historic Preservation Office: Jeter and Ethel Neville House, National Register nomination (OR3151), p. 14
  13. The old Burwell schoolroom is said to be moved to West Orange Street during John Berry's work on the Burwell School The west wing of the bungalow at 114 West Orange Street is reputed to be the old Burwell schoolroom, moved there in 1850 while John Berry was renovating the Burwell School. The house around it dates from 1922. People: John Berry Place: 114 West Orange Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Burwell SchoolNC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 114 W. Orange Street, house incorporating the old Burwell schoolroom
  14. Orange railroad meeting names a committee to raise subscriptions A meeting of Orange County citizens at the court house in Hillsborough appointed a committee, among them Dr. W. A. Norwood, D. C. Parrish, John Berry, J. U. Kirkland, W. N. Pratt, C. W. Johnston and Josiah Turner Jr., to solicit subscriptions to the North Carolina Railroad and report at the February county court. People: Walter A. Norwood, John Berry, John U. Kirkland, Josiah Turner Jr. Place: Court house, Hillsborough · Also named: D. C. Parrish, W. N. Pratt, C. W. Johnston · Also mentions: North Carolina RailroadSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 13, 1850, p. 3
  15. Robert Burwell pledges Mary Ann and her children against his building debts A deed of trust set out Burwell's debts of $2,500 to the builder John Berry and $800 to the Presbyterian trustees, and offered as security the enslaved seamstress Mary Ann, her four children and any children born to her, and a girl named Ann. People: Robert Armistead Burwell, John Berry, Thomas Webb Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Mary AnnElizabeth Keckly Center research database: Mary Ann
  16. Democrats win the Orange and Alamance Senate seat and all four Commons seats In the state election, voters of Orange and Alamance, still voting together for the legislature, chose Capt. John Berry for the Senate and Cadwallader Jones Jr., Daniel A. Montgomery, Bartlett Durham and George Patterson for the Commons, all Democrats, over the Whig ticket headed by Chesley F. Faucett. The two counties also gave David S. Reid 1,855 votes for governor to Gov. Charles Manly's 1,634, reversing Manly's narrow lead there in 1848. People: John Berry, Charles Manly, Cadwallader Jones Place: Orange and Alamance counties · Also named: Daniel A. Montgomery, Bartlett Durham, George Patterson, Chesley F. FaucettSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, August 7, 1850, p. 3
  17. Orange returns John Berry to the state Senate and splits its Commons seats In the state election John Berry, a Whig, won Orange County's seat in the state Senate. The House of Commons seats for Orange and Alamance went to Democrats B. L. Durham and John F. Lyon and Whigs Samuel F. Phillips and Josiah Turner Jr. People: John Berry, Samuel (Samuel Field) Phillips, Josiah Turner Jr. Place: Orange County · Also named: B. L. Durham, John F. LyonSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 1, 1852, p. 3
  18. The legislature passes a bill incorporating the trustees of Hillsborough Academy The state Senate passed the House bill incorporating the trustees of Hillsborough Academy, suspending its rules to give the bill its second and third readings the same day. Orange member B. L. Durham had introduced the bill in the Commons after the academy gave notice in September that it would seek a charter. People: John Berry Place: Hillsborough Academy, Hillsborough · Also named: B. L. DurhamHillsborough Recorder, December 8, 1852, p. 2
  19. An enslaved man is killed with a pair of tongs near Hillsborough An enslaved man held by Capt. John Berry of the Hillsborough neighborhood was killed by blows to the head with a pair of tongs from an enslaved man held by Mr. Hargrave of Chapel Hill; after an examination before Judge Battle the accused was admitted to bail to await a jury trial. People: John Berry Place: Hillsborough neighborhoodSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, April 6, 1853, p. 2
  20. Benjamin Hedrick's house with an eight-sided room goes up on East Rosemary Street Professor Benjamin Hedrick's house at 610 East Rosemary Street, known for its octagonal room, was ready by 1855 and the Hedricks moved in; Preservation Chapel Hill credits the Hillsborough builder John Berry and Hedrick's own design, and Little says he bought an older farmhouse from the university and added the eight-sided room. Horace Williams later owned it, and Preservation Chapel Hill now has its offices there. People: Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick, John Berry Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Benjamin Hedrick, Horace WilliamsSearch the index · Preservation Chapel Hill: Horace Williams House · Also: Chapel Hill Historical Society, 610 East Rosemary Street; The Daily Tar Heel, October 3, 1975, p. 1; The Daily Tar Heel, September 23, 1991, p. 5
  21. An octagonal brick ice house is built for Burnside A mostly underground octagonal brick ice house with a conical shingled roof was built for Burnside, the Cameron family estate on South Cameron Street; the brickwork is said to be John Berry's. It stands in the woods south of Cameron Park Elementary School and was restored around 2002. People: John Berry Place: Cameron Ice House, south of Cameron Park Elementary School (200 East King Street parcel), HillsboroughSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 200 E. King Street (Cameron Ice House)
  22. Pride Jones has John Berry enlarge Sans Souci After inheriting Sans Souci from Dr. William Cain in 1857, Dr. Pride Jones has builder John Berry renovate the house, adding the rear dining room and stair, the full-width front porch and the one-story wings. People: Pride Jones Place: Sans Souci, 235 East Corbin Street, Hillsborough · Also named: William CainSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 235-237 East Corbin Street, Sans Souci
  23. Charles Tew buys land west of Hillsborough for a military academy On December 18, 1858, Charles C. Tew of South Carolina bought from Cad Jones a 61 1/4-acre tract lying between the Greensborough road and the North Carolina Railroad, on what is now the west end of Hillsborough, for a military academy modeled on the Citadel. His advertisements, dated September 15, 1858, had already announced that the school would open at Hillsborough in January 1859. People: Charles Courtenay Tew, John Berry, Moses Ashley Curtis Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: North Carolina RailroadSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: The Commandant's House, National Register nomination (OR0006), p. 4 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, November 10, 1858, p. 1; NC Digital Collections: Heather Wagner Slane, Hillsborough Architectural Survey; Open Orange: Hillsborough Military Academy
  24. Hillsborough Methodist Church builds its church The Hillsborough Methodist congregation, organized about 1807, bought its lot on April 4, 1859, and John Berry built the church, which was to be dedicated on Sunday, October 6, 1861. The war held up the finishing and the building was not paid for until 1874. Lefler and Wager counted 200 seats, and it was still the congregation's church in 1953. People: John Berry Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 18, 1861, p. 3 · Also: Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952; nccumc.org
  25. First Baptist Church of Hillsborough builds its church Seven years after organizing in the old courthouse, the First Baptist Church of Hillsborough began its brick church about 1860, to a design by William Percival. The congregation met in the courthouse until 1862 and the war stalled the work; John Berry took over from the first builder, D. Kistler, and finished it. The Baptist State Convention met in the newly completed church in the fall of 1868, when Rev. Thomas H. Pritchard of Raleigh preached the dedication sermon. People: William A. Graham, John Berry, William Percival Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Thomas H. PritchardSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 301 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, October 13, 1869, p. 1; Hillsborough Historic District NR additional documentation; Hillsborough Recorder, November 4, 1868, p. 2
  26. The Hillsborough Military Academy's commandant's house is built The academy's castellated brick superintendent's house, known locally as the Commandant's House, with a turret at each corner and crenellated battlements, was presumably built about the same time as the barracks, which were complete by 1860. It was the home of Charles C. Tew, his wife Elizabeth and their children. John Berry was its builder, to designs by the Columbia architect John A. Kay, and Henry Richards Sr. is credited as its brickmason. People: Charles Courtenay Tew, John Berry Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Henry RichardsSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: The Commandant's House, National Register nomination (OR0006), p. 4 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, October 24, 1860, p. 3; Open Orange: Hillsborough Military Academy
  27. A Union meeting at the court house nominates Graham and John Berry for the convention Union men of all parties met in the court house at Hillsborough, nominated William A. Graham for the proposed state convention and, on the report of a committee of nineteen, added Capt. John Berry. Berry accepted after Col. Guthrie withdrew David L. Swain's name, and on February 22 Swain confirmed that he had left the race. People: John Berry, William A. Graham, A. C. Murdock, David L. Swain Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 27, 1861, p. 3
  28. Orange County voters reject a secession convention In the February 28, 1861 vote on calling a state convention, Orange County voted 1,436 against and 458 for, and chose Unionists William A. Graham and John Berry as delegates over secession candidates Henry K. Nash and Pride Jones. The governor's count showed the convention defeated statewide, 46,603 to 46,409, before Davie County reported. People: John Berry, Pride Jones, William A. Graham, Henry Kollock Nash Place: CountywideHillsborough Recorder, March 6, 1861, p. 3 ("Official Vote Orange")
  29. Orange County sends delegates to the secession convention On May 13, 1861, after Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call for troops, Orange County voters again chose William A. Graham and John Berry as delegates to the state convention, over Paul C. Cameron and Henry K. Nash. The Recorder printed the precinct returns and noted the convention would meet in Raleigh on May 20. People: John Berry, William A. Graham, Paul C. Cameron, Henry Kollock Nash Place: CountywideHillsborough Recorder, May 15, 1861, p. 3 ("Official Vote of Orange")
  30. North Carolina secedes from the Union Meeting in Raleigh on May 20, 1861, the state convention, with Orange County's delegates William A. Graham and John Berry among its members, unanimously adopted an ordinance dissolving North Carolina's union with the United States and the same day ratified the provisional Confederate constitution. People: John Berry, William A. Graham Place: CountywideHillsborough Recorder, May 29, 1861, p. 3 (convention proceedings)
  31. Presiding elder William Barringer dedicates the new Methodist church in Hillsborough The brick church that Capt. John Berry built on the Tryon Street lot bought in 1859 was dedicated by William Barringer, presiding elder of the Raleigh District. The first sermon in it was preached by Jesse A. Cunninggim. People: John Berry Place: Hillsborough Methodist Church, Tryon Street, Hillsborough · Also named: William Barringer, Jesse A. Cunninggim · Also mentions: Tryon StreetSearch the index · Pauline O. Lloyd and Allen A. Lloyd, History of the Churches of Hillsborough, N.C., ca. 1766-1962 (1963), scan p. 109
  32. The legislature elects William A. Graham to the Confederate Senate Early in the session that began after the 1862 election, the Assembly chose Graham, then Orange's state senator, for the Confederate Senate term starting in May 1864. He kept his state seat until December 1863. People: William A. Graham, John Berry Place: Orange CountyLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 108
  33. Orange elects William A. Graham to the state senate and H. B. Guthrie sheriff Orange County voters sent William A. Graham to the state senate, chose John Berry and William N. Patterson for the House of Commons over J. L. Stewart and William F. Strayhorn, and elected H. B. Guthrie sheriff over the incumbent R. M. Jones. At home the county gave Zebulon B. Vance 1,051 votes for governor to 308 for William Johnston. People: William A. Graham, John Berry, William N. Patterson, Hugh B. Guthrie, Zebulon B. Vance Place: Orange County · Also named: R. M. Jones, William F. StrayhornSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, August 27, 1862, p. 3
  34. Hillsborough Baptists begin worshipping in the basement of their unfinished church With its building money lost in the war, the congregation appears to have moved into the basement of the new Wake Street church around 1864 and met there for some years. The builder John Berry finished the building later. People: John Berry Place: First Baptist Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · Pauline O. Lloyd and Allen A. Lloyd, History of the Churches of Hillsborough, N.C., ca. 1766-1962 (1963), scan p. 30
  35. Orange voters elect John Berry to the state Senate and Addison Mangum to the Commons In the special election to replace William A. Graham, Orange voters sent Capt. John Berry to the state Senate over James N. Patterson and elected Capt. Addison Mangum to Berry's old seat in the House of Commons over Col. J. S. Leathers and Capt. J. W. Latta. People: John Berry, William A. Graham Place: Orange County · Also named: Addison Mangum, James N. Patterson, J. S. Leathers, J. W. LattaSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, March 23, 1864, p. 3
  36. Orange County elects John Berry to the state senate Orange County elected John Berry its state senator in the August 1864 election, by the list of members elected to the 1864-65 General Assembly. Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, August 31, 1864, p. 3
  37. Orange County sends John Berry and Samuel F. Phillips to the 1865 convention Orange would have elected Graham to the postwar convention, but his pardon was held up, so he withdrew and voters chose Berry and Phillips. People: Samuel (Samuel Field) Phillips, William A. Graham, William W. Holden, Samuel Field Phillips Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 109 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, September 27, 1865, p. 2
  38. The legislature elects William A. Graham to the U.S. Senate, but Congress refuses to seat him Elected to the state Senate in 1865, Graham could not take that seat without a pardon. The legislature then chose him for the U.S. Senate, and he was turned away with the rest of the state's delegation. His pardon arrived in 1867. People: William A. Graham, John Berry Place: Orange CountySearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 109 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, December 6, 1865, p. 2
  39. Thomas Webb of Hillsborough becomes president of the North Carolina Railroad The North Carolina Railroad's stockholders held their seventeenth annual meeting at Hillsborough on Thursday, July 12, 1866, and the directors elected Thomas Webb president in place of Nathaniel Boyden, with P. B. Ruffin as treasurer, F. A. Stagg as secretary and Edward Wilkes as superintendent. The state's directors for the year included John Berry and Josiah Turner Jr. of Orange. People: Thomas Webb, John Berry, Josiah Turner Jr. Place: Hillsborough · Also named: P. B. Ruffin, F. A. Stagg, Edward WilkesSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, July 18, 1866, p. 2
  40. Orange elects John Berry to the state Senate and S. D. Umstead and W. W. Guess to the Commons In the state election of Thursday, October 18, 1866, Orange County chose Capt. John Berry for the state Senate over Richard M. Jones and Thomas Vickers, and S. D. Umstead and William W. Guess for the House of Commons over John F. Lyon, B. C. Hopkins and John H. Watson. The county also voted for Governor Jonathan Worth over Alfred Dockery. People: John Berry, John H. Watson, Jonathan Worth Place: Orange County · Also named: S. D. Umstead, William W. Guess, Alfred Dockery, Richard M. Jones, John F. LyonSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, October 24, 1866, p. 2
  41. Orange Conservatives hold a county meeting at the courthouse and name an executive committee A large Conservative meeting at the courthouse in Hillsborough, chaired by Capt. John Berry, heard William A. Graham speak for more than an hour and Josiah Turner Jr. after him. It adopted resolutions backing the state Conservative convention, calling for government by white men and opposing Black suffrage, and the chair named a county executive committee under the party's plan of organization. People: John Berry, William A. Graham, Josiah Turner Jr., Calvin E. Parish Place: Court house, HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, March 4, 1868, p. 2
  42. Builder John Berry dies at Sunny Side while starting the Berry Building John Berry, the self-taught builder of the Orange County Courthouse and a longtime state legislator, died of pneumonia at his home Sunny Side at 72. He had caught cold that winter while beginning his last project, a two-story brick store and ballroom downtown known as the Berry Building. Place: Sunny Side, near Hillsborough · Also mentions: Berry Building, Orange County CourthouseSearch the index · NCpedia: Berry, John (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Mary Claire Engstrom, 1979) · Also: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation

After their death in 1870

Later events: estates and burials, and the buildings, honors and histories that remember them.

  1. Hillsborough Methodist Church finishes paying for its building The Civil War interrupted work on the brick church John Berry designed and built on West Tryon Street, and the congregation did not finish paying for it until 1874. People: John Berry Place: Hillsborough United Methodist Church, 130 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: West Tryon StreetSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 130 W. Tryon, Hillsborough United Methodist Church
  2. First Baptist Church of Hillsborough repairs its church and ties the walls with rods In 1889 the Romanesque Revival brick church at 201 West King Street, which John Berry finished by 1868, was fully repaired, including reinforcing its walls with rods. People: John Berry Place: First Baptist Church, 201 West King Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: West King StreetSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (OR0077ad, 2014), 201 W. King Street (First Baptist Church)
  3. Three brick stores are built at 101-107 North Churton Street after a fire After fire destroyed the Berry Building on North Churton Street, three brick stores went up on the site together. Plaques saved from the old building, crediting Captain John Berry in 1869, were set between the new storefronts with one reading 'Rebuilt 1927.' People: John Berry Place: 101-107 North Churton Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Berry Building, North Churton StreetSearch the index · Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register (2014)
  4. Grandchildren give Hillsboro Presbyterian Church a memorial chancel for builder John Berry By August 19, 1948, Hillsboro Presbyterian Church had received $1,500 from two grandchildren of 'Capt.' John Berry, the contractor who built many of Hillsboro's buildings, churches and homes, to build a chancel in his memory in place of the present pulpit. Place: Hillsboro Presbyterian Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), August 19, 1948, p. 1
  5. A bronze plaque honoring builder John Berry is placed on the Old Orange County Courthouse A bronze plaque naming John Berry a contributor to the tradition of American architecture was dedicated at the 1845 courthouse he built in Hillsborough. The Hillsborough Historical Society presented it, and Donald M. Stanford, chairman of the county commissioners, accepted it. Place: Old Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough · Also named: Donald M. StanfordSearch the index · NCpedia: Berry, John (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Mary Claire Engstrom, 1979) · Also: Internet Archive: North Carolina Historical Review 42
  6. Sunnyside, the John Berry farm, joins the Study List The National Register Advisory Committee placed Sunnyside, the farm of the builder John Berry east of Hillsborough (later the Baldwin farm), on North Carolina's Study List, its list of properties likely to qualify for the National Register. It came to the committee as a public request. People: John Berry Place: Sunnyside, St. Mary's Road, near HillsboroughSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: National Register Advisory Committee agendas, minutes and approved lists, p. 577

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as John Berry, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

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Indexed works

Works about or by John Berry. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

By John Berry

Papers,

Berry, John · 1755

Papers of John Berry, the Hillsborough brick mason, builder and architect, 62 items with the earliest from 1755. They document his building work in the town and around Orange County and include photographs of buildings he designed. Letters from relatives in Texas after the Civil War describe what the war did to them, especially to the cattle business, and there is Berry and Vincent family genealogy.

Duke

Life and Basketball - life lessons and basketball tips

Berry, John · 2015 · Lulu Press

John Berry pairs lessons for life with basketball tips in this 2015 book, published through Lulu Press. Grouped with UNC sports titles in the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Reference Books Collection, CHHS.010.

CH Historical Society

About John Berry

John Berry of Hillsboro, North Carolina

1951 · Society of Architectural Historians

Eva Ingersoll Gatling's article on John Berry (1798 to 1870), the Hillsborough builder and architect, detached from the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, volume 10, number 1, pages 18 to 22, with illustrations. It concerns the history of North Carolina architecture and the historic buildings of Hillsborough. Published by the society in Philadelphia in 1951.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Berry, John, 1798-1870.

UNC

A program and plaque dedication ceremony honoring John Berry of Hillsborough (1798-1870) : builder, architect, legislator, humanitarian.

1964 · Hillsborough Historical Society?

The printed program for a ceremony held on the evening of 11 September 1964 at the new courthouse in Hillsborough, where the Hillsborough Historical Society and Eagle Lodge No. 19 unveiled a plaque honoring John Berry, the builder, architect and legislator who lived from 1798 to 1870. One folded sheet of four pages with a portrait.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Berry, John, 1798-1870.

UNC

Substance of the testimony concerning the voters about whom the committee disagree.

1849

Testimony gathered in an 1849 contested election case from Orange County, summarizing the evidence about the individual voters whose eligibility the committee could not agree on. John Berry and Hugh Waddell were the candidates in the case before the North Carolina Senate committee on privileges and elections. Eight pages, useful to anyone studying who could vote in the county and on what terms.

Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Berry, John, 1798-1870.

Duke

To the citizens of Orange County : I have been for many years your Sheriff, and trust I have established some character among my fellow citizens for uprightness in the discharge of the duites of my office.

Turrentine, James · 1844

James C. Turrentine, for many years sheriff of Orange County, addressed his fellow citizens in this 1844 broadside, answering John Berry's charge that he had acted improperly in casting the deciding vote for Berry's opponent at a recent election. Thirty by nineteen centimeters, signed at the end.

Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Berry, John, 1798-1870.

Duke

John Berry Papers

Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives · 2014

Papers of John Berry (1798-1870), the Hillsborough architect, described by the Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives at Wake Forest University in an entry dated May 2, 2014. Topics include North Carolina architects, the buildings and history of Hillsborough, and the buildings of Wake Forest College.

Included because: Catalog heading in the DPLA record: Berry, John, 1798-1870.

DPLA

Mary Claire Engstrom papers, 1963-1984.

Engstrom, Mary Claire, 1906-1997 · 1963

Research papers of Mary Claire Engstrom, 1906 to 1997, dated 1963 to 1984 and filling 13.75 linear feet with roughly ten thousand items, part of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 4684. Her subjects were Hillsborough's historic buildings and districts, John Berry, Mr. and Mrs. Burwell's Female School, county cemeteries, Quakers, and local history. Correspondence with other genealogists belongs to the group.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Berry, John, 1798-1870.

UNC
Show 4 more about John Berry

Eva Intersoll Gatling materials on John Berry, circa 1951.

Gatling, Eva Ingersoll, 1912-2000 · 1951

Research materials on John Berry, 1798 to 1870, gathered around 1951 by Eva Ingersoll Gatling, 1912 to 2000, thirteen items in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 517.100. The materials document Berry as a North Carolina architect, following his buildings at Hillsborough, Oxford and Salisbury and on the campuses of the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Berry, John, 1798-1870.

UNC

Orange County Court House, Hillsboro, N.C.

1905

The Orange County courthouse in Hillsborough with its bell tower, a street lamp and overhead wires, and a man leaning on a pole at right. Published about 1905 to 1915 for the W. A. Hayes Drug Store and printed in Germany for A. C. Bosselman. The card credits King George III with giving the town its tower clock in 1769.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

DPLA

Star Pattern Quilt

1861

Star pattern quilt of 1861, pieced from red, green and yellow calico and stitched by hand, with a white backing quilted in floral designs. Elizabeth Vincent Berry, wife of the Hillsborough architect and builder John Berry, made it.

Included because: Their name appears in the record.

DigitalNC DPLA

Reports from the Committee on Privileges and Elections in the case of the contested election in the district of Orange.

North Carolina · 1849 · S. Gales

Senate committee reports from 1849 on the contested election for Orange County's seat in the 37th Senatorial District of North Carolina, fought between Hugh Waddell (1799-1878) and John Berry (1798-1870). The committee split, and the pamphlet prints both parts' reports, the Senate resolutions and the committee's proceedings. Printed in Raleigh by S. Gales, 32 pages.

Included because: Catalog heading in the Duke record: Berry, John, 1798-1870.

Duke UNC

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 19 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

Show 8 more
  • Berry Brick House Houses, farms, parks and cemeteries · Hillsborough · 1 event here
  • Hillsborough Academy Schools and academies · Hillsborough · 1 event here
  • Horace Williams House Houses, farms, parks and cemeteries · Chapel Hill · 1 event here
  • Old East University buildings and grounds · Chapel Hill · 1 event here
  • Old West University buildings and grounds · Chapel Hill · 1 event here
  • Orange County jail, Hillsborough Public buildings and services · Hillsborough · 1 event here
  • Sans Souci Houses, farms, parks and cemeteries · Hillsborough · 1 event here
  • Twin Chimneys Houses, farms, parks and cemeteries · Hillsborough · 1 event here

All places and the county map →

Records of enslaved people

2 records, 1827 to 1849, name John Berry as a party to the sale, gift, trust or other transfer of enslaved people. Each record lists the people named in it, with their ages and family ties.

Search all records of enslaved people in Orange County →

Deeds

23 deeds, 1827 to 1869, in the county’s deed books name John Berry as a party, from Mark Chilton’s published abstracts. Each links to the deed-book page at the Register of Deeds.

Show all 23 deeds

Search every historic deed →

Wills

One will or paper in the county’s will books names John Berry, from Ruth Herndon Shields’s abstracts. Each shows the role and the year.

Search the wills →

Research sources

Sources and research tools for this person. For ready-made searches of other catalogs, see Search further. Research guide: Trace a family through historical records.

Background

Records of the time 6

Collections and databases

  • NC LIVE: prepared search for John Berry Library card Search NC LIVE for this subject and Orange County. You can change the search terms. Sign in through your North Carolina library to access the materials.
  • Ancestry Library Edition In the libraryOrange County Public Library Census, birth, death and marriage records, and more, free on the public computers at OCPL libraries

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Books about John Berry

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